


Equilibrium

by Tardis_Blue87



Category: Doctor Who (2005)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-09-09
Updated: 2017-09-09
Packaged: 2018-12-25 20:52:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,634
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12044052
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tardis_Blue87/pseuds/Tardis_Blue87
Summary: She once promised him forever, and forever is what she meant. After the Doctor comes back for Rose on BWB, the Metacrisis Doctor finds that their story is only just beginning. Cross-posted on Whofic.





	Equilibrium

_The Metacrisis Doctor knew that Rose was going to put up a fight. She was not the kind of woman that was going to sit back and let someone decide her future for her. She stomped after The Doctor in brown as he turned around and tried to walk away, this time without so much as a goodbye. Would he ever learn?_

_“But-it’s still not right,” The Metacrisis Doctor could hear her saying over the wind. “Because The Doctor’s still...you.”_

_“And I’m him,” he reminded her gently. There was a pained look on his face, and the Metacrisis Doctor could tell that he was close to cracking. If she pushed much more, he’d throw it all away just to be with her. He knew, because he was him._

_He sauntered forward, hands in his pockets. They stood facing each other, and it was as if they were looking in a mirror. Same nose, same dark eyes, same freckle over his left eye that he looked at every day. Rose’s eyes darted back and forth between them. The Metacrisis Doctor knew that she was having trouble wrapping her head around the whole thing. He would’ve been more surprised if she had simply accepted it._

_“Alright,” Rose said. “Both of you, answer me this. When I last stood on this beach, on the worst day of my life, what was the last thing you said to me?” She looked at The Doctor, waiting. The Metacrisis Doctor also waited for it, his heart pounding in his chest. He knew that it was The Doctor’s answer that she wanted, not his. To her, he was just a byproduct. A copy. He was not supposed to exist. But still, he couldn’t help but hope._

_“Go on, say it,” Rose said impatiently._

_“I said…“Rose Tyler.” The Doctor gulped, his voice cracking slightly. He was pleading silently with his eyes, begging her not to make him say the words that he couldn’t, shouldn’t, say._

_“And how is that sentence going to end?”_

_The silence seemed to stretch out for eternity, a void of its own. The Metacrisis Doctor already knew what he was going to say._

_“Does it need saying?”_

_Rose’s face fell slightly. She turned to the Metacrisis Doctor. “And you, Doctor?”_

_This was his chance. He leaned in close to her ear, because this was it, this was the moment, and it seemed like something private that should stay just between them. She gasped as his lips formed the words, and then she grabbed him by the lapels of his jacket, pulling his lips to hers._

_The slam of the TARDIS doors broke the spell between them. She pulled out of his arms and ran towards the ship, but it was too late. The Doctor and The DoctorDonna were gone from this existence, forever. She stared at the imprint in the sand, as if she could will it back with her mind. Taking a deep breath, The Metacrisis Doctor stepped forward and reached for her hand. What else could he do? She was Rose Tyler and more than anything right now, she needed a hand to hold. So did he._

_“What now?” She asked dully, turning to look at him. He could see the hurt in her eyes, and he wondered if she would ever fully be able to accept him. If she would ever be able to get over him. He still had Rose Tyler’s heart with him in that old blue police box, and the Metacrisis Doctor wasn’t sure that he’d ever be able to get it back._

_“I’m still here,” he said softly, squeezing her hand. She squeezed back, and they stared out at the ocean together, facing the beginning of their forever._

***

Ian Noble hated nights like this.

Sometimes, the dreams that plagued him were relentless. Even after all this time, he still dreamed of her. It was always the same dream, and it felt just as real as it had on the day it had really happened. The salty air blowing in his face, his feet sinking in the wet sand, and her fingers linked with his. He would roll over and reach for her, desperately needing to feel the warmth of her skin. But then he would wake up again and he would be in his bed, alone. The reality of it was that their forever had only lasted a few moments, and then it came to a screeching halt as the TARDIS had reappeared in front of them.

_The imprint in the sand hadn’t even disappeared yet when it rematerialized in the same spot, and The Doctor threw open the doors and ran out, his hair sticking up in every direction and his brown coat flying behind him. “Rose!”_

_She dropped the Metacrisis Doctor’s hand and took off running, and he swept her up into a bear hug and swung her around. “Rose Tyler, I love you,” he told her, his voice carrying on the wind. “Im sorry I was so thick, so sorry, I don’t know what I was thinking.”_

_Rose was laughing, an expression of sheer joy on her face. This was what she had been dreaming of all along. The Metacrisis Doctor turned his head, not wanting to see the same moment he had just shared with her shared between the two of them._

Ian stared at the ceiling, trying to will himself back to sleep. In his old life, he had been able to avoid sleep altogether for a number of weeks at a time, keeping the dreams at bay. Now that he was human, however, it seemed to be unavoidable. After several minutes, however, Ian decided that it was out of the question. He rolled out of bed and threw his clothes on in the dark, caring little if his shirt was inside out. He grabbed his keys, slipped out of the motel room, picked a direction, and started running.

He ran and ran, the pounding of his feet echoing off the brownstone buildings that lined the street. He ran until his lungs were burning and his heart was racing. Ian slowed his pace slightly, but still he kept on. Sometimes he liked to think that if he kept going, he might just outrun it all. It was oddly fitting somehow that the man who had spent his entire alien life running from everything that plagued him would also find running therapeutic in his human life.

It was some time later before Ian finally slowed to a stop. He leaned over, hands on his knees, as he tried to catch his breath. When he finally looked up, however, he began to realize that he had absolutely no idea where he might be. He thought it was a park somewhere south of downtown, but he couldn’t be sure. Hell, he didn’t even know what city he was currently staying in. After a moment, he gave up and trudged to a nearby bench where he flopped down. He’d find his way back eventually; it wasn’t as if he was short on time or had anywhere at all to be. He never did.

The night was cool, but the sky was completely clear. Wherever he was, it was certainly remote enough to be out of the reach of the big city lights. Millions of stars blanketed the sky above him. He laid back on the bench and stared up, mentally mapping each one out and comparing it to his own universe-his home.

Oh, how he missed home. It was the little things that he found he missed the most-The hum of the TARDIS in his head, the smell of the time vortex on his hands, the familiarity of the stars above him. Now, he was merely human in a place that wasn’t his own. For a few blissful moments on the beach, hope had bloomed brightly in his chest. He’d thought that being human might not be so bad, especially with someone he loved by his side. It would have been an adjustment, sure, but isn’t that what he had always wanted? To be human, right along with his friends? To be with his _family,_ as he thought of them? To grow old and die beside them, rather than just watch them wither and die, leaving him to soldier on?

But now he was here, alone.

Ian hadn’t talked to Pete or Jackie in months, though he knew they’d been trying to contact him. What was the point? They didn’t need him. Just like Martha, their lives went on as usual (minus Rose, of course) and generally, whenever The Doctor showed up in any form, trouble was not far behind. It was best if he just stayed away.

A tree branch snapped loudly somewhere in the distance, jerking Ian out of his melancholy. He sat up, instantly on the alert. Nothing immediately appeared amiss, but hundreds of years of surviving by the skin of his teeth told him not to trust only his eyes. Something felt _off._ After a few moments, he gave up trying to figure out what it was. He stood up and stretched, his human joints popping loudly. Perhaps he should begin to make his way back towards his hotel, just in case.

He was halfway across the lawn when two masked figures suddenly appeared behind him. Ian let out a shout as he was thrown to the ground and a bag was placed over his head-but there was nobody around to hear him. A little old lady across the street thought she heard an odd noise, but after a few moments she simply decided that it was the neighbor’s old tomcat on the prowl and quickly shut the light off again. The entire neighborhood slept on, blissfully unaware of the lonely Metacrisis Doctor’s predicament.


End file.
